News

A New Look

Students returning to campus will be treated to a new residence hall, refaced College Park Center, a more comfortable Boll Theatre, and more.

The first wave of University of Dayton students returning to campus for the fall semester are seeing big changes on the University landscape.

Some are moving into the $25-million Caldwell Street Apartments, on six acres along Caldwell and Brown streets on part of the former Frank Z dealership, will house more than 400 upperclass students. Design concepts emphasize a townhouse-style façade with amenities and architectural features common to houses in the adjacent student neighborhood — arches, overhangs, gables and dormers. A spacious courtyard connects the five buildings. The four-bedroom apartments feature brand-new appliances, including washers and dryers, granite countertops and wood-look ceramic tile.

"I was really excited when I saw the pictures, and coming to see it is even more amazing," said student Ephraim Tolbert. "The fact that we have all the amenities, everything we could possibly need; it's really nice. I can see us using the courtyard a lot, just chatting, throwing Frisbee."

Those 400 students aren't the only ones moving into new digs this month. Four new houses sprouted up on Lowes Street. All of them are certified as green buildings, the first such University of Dayton houses to receive that designation.

While not new, students moving into the Campus South Apartments will be the beneficiaries of a $10 million renovation. The residential facility received new bathrooms, a spacious lobby and comfortable student lounges as well as apartment upgrades.

While some students will have new or updated places to live, others will have a new place to play. Crews completed the final phase of the $7.1 million Cronin Athletics Center, totally constructed through private gifts.

Elsewhere on campus, multiple buildings received or are in the process of receiving facelifts. The College Park Center's makeover involved crews individually staining 652,500 bricks red. In the first phase of a $20 million multiyear modernization of the Science Center, improvements this summer included new windows and air conditioning. In the following phase, window replacements will continue and classrooms and laboratories will be renovated, including technology upgrades. Roesch Library also started receiving new windows this summer. Future work to the library will include a brick wrap for the building, more window work, and transforming the interior into a modern learning center with more spaces for students to study and greater electronic learning tools. Kennedy Union's Boll Theatre received new seats, carpeting and lights.

Five local contractors — Ferguson, Miller-Valentine, Messer, Rixco and Danis — performed nearly $30 million of work this summer. The latest renovations are part of a six-year capital improvement plan that's tied to the University's strategic plan. The University is using a combination of operating funds, bonds and private support to fund the projects. Typically, the University invests an average $30 million to $35 million annually in capital improvements.

For more information on the University of Dayton master plan, see the related link.

For more information, contact Shawn Robinson, associate director of media relations, at 937-229-3391 or srobinson@udayton.edu.